Hello, long time lurker, first time poster in this subreddit! I’m so grateful for everything I’ve read here, and I hope someone can have insight from my story too.
45yo female, always been around 120-125 lbs, have had GERD since I was in my early 20s. It was easily managed with diet and lifestyle up until mid-February of 2026. I had big weird health issues from mid-Jan to mid-Feb and ended up getting a spinal tap. All results were normal, but I had a bad reaction to the tap. Because I had had difficulties for a while, my anxiety was rising through all of this body confusion, and I didn't realize I was accidentally triggering the biggest GERD attack of my life. [Note that all of my extensive tests since this time have come out normal, so I'm pretty sure nothing else is impacting GERD or my symptoms.] I started taking Famotidine and Sucralafate Feb 23 after an emergency room visit. I had all the worst symptoms, including feeling like I was having a head attack and weird fluttering in veins (perhaps related to arrhythmias). I have been checked out for heart issues, and I don't have that. I switched medications on March 3 (primary doc took the 2 away and placed Omeprazole, Baclofen and Ativan for sleep). On March 4, I started noticing discomfort moving into the lower stomach and less in the upper (though it was still there some). I continued to have difficulty, including left arm aches, particularly in the inner part of the arm.
On March 13 I had an endoscopy- small hiatal hernia, bile in the stomach, and regular GERD-related inflammation. On March 17 I switched out Omeprazole for Pantoprazole since it wasn't working well. I slowly reduced Baclofen at some point because I felt like it made me constipated and dry-mouthed. I started really working on anxiety, doing morning breathing exercises and all kinds of things. I made small improvements, but I also made more lifestyle changes- smoothies only in the 'evenings', stopping eating around 4, and eating little. Like 1200 calories a day. (At 5ft 4 in that seems okay for me- I also watch to make sure that almost all of my calories give nutrients.) Please note as well I followed all GERD food rules strictly.
On April 14, because I was still having symptoms in my lower stomach (upper chest trouble and a lot of arm discomfort went away), my 40 mg of Pantoprazole doubled. A pill at 6am, wait 30 minutes, eat slowly throughout the day little bits spaced apart until 1pm stop. 2 hours to digest and then second pill at 3pm, and drink smoothie slowly starting about 3:30pm. I've learned over time that consuming slowly helps. Especially in the evenings.
Now here it is May 3. I feel like I'm still in ups and downs. I have to not move much. The physical part is very important for me. I have 5 dresses that I can wear that put no pressure on my stomach. Moving my arms up and down quickly is triggering. Walking can be triggering if I'm too fast. Bending down to weed outside is triggering. So my life is compromised as I try to keep my core still as much as possible. (I can do squats and gentle stretches, which I do in the morning when I'm at my best.) I feel that I'm developing impatience to get back to normal, though even as I'm writing this, I can see how far I've come.
Also, stress makes a difference. I realize my best days lately are days where my work is light.
Ultimately, my mornings and days are okay. I basically start to have trouble with whatever I eat after the 2nd pill. I've been trying to add solid foods in addition to the smoothie (probably moving too fast) and now I've set myself back from the morning. I'm bummed out and making this post!
I have a regular doctor appointment on Friday the 8th just to talk about everything. I reach my one-month of 80mg Pantoprazole on May 12. And I set an appointment with the real GI doctor (had to do the nurse pract due to urgency) for July 1st. I just want to process everything with him and plan for this to, really, never happen again.
If you have any advice for me, let me know! I'll come back and update this once I'm all better (I should remember!) :)